Recent Read: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice & Virtue

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by MacKenzi Lee

“On the morning we are to leave for our Grand Tour of the Continent, I wake in bed beside Percy. For a disorienting moment it’s unclear whether we’ve slept together or simply slept together.”

So begins this rollicking romp in 18th Century Europe. Monty is an English gentleman, but he’s also a playboy, regularly getting into compromising positions with both girls and boys. He’s leaving on a grand tour of Europe with his sister, Felicity, and his best friend (and secret crush), Percy. Monty is determined to have one last hurrah before his father imprisons him in gentlemanly adult responsibilities, like marriage and overseeing the estate. He has barely started his adventures in France when, at the Palace of Versailles, he gets caught naked with a courtesan and flees out the window, but not without stealing a pretty box of the Duke of Bourbon’s out of spite. They learn just how valuable this box is when highwaymen run them down the next day. Now, Monty, Percy, and Felicity appear to possess the secret to immortality and must decide what to do with it and manage to stay alive to do it.

This is at once a hilarious, scandalous, and thrilling book that may also surprise you with poignant moments. It was pure enjoyment the whole way through. Lee’s writing was a delight—snarky and funny one moment, tender and poetic the next. Percy and Felicity are lovable without question, while Monty is so selfish and irresponsible, it takes a while (and some growth) before I came to love him as well. It may seem a bit fluffy because of the light tone and humor sprinkled throughout, but Lee includes some pretty serious and ambitious ground: grand tours of Europe (which was a common practice for the upper classes at the time), epilepsy at a time when people had no real understanding of it, ditto for homosexuality, physical abuse, feminism, alcoholism, racism, shall I continue? And yet it all works together. She explains the historical context for many issues covered in the book in her note. Are there anachronisms? Is it a bit rosy to be realistic? Probably. Did I care? Not so much. This book made me laugh, blush, gasp, and fall in love. I warn you, it’s a bit mature for a teen book; there’s a fair amount of raunch, but alas, I absolutely loved it.

Recent Read: I'm Just No Good at Rhyming

I'm Just No Good at Rhyming and Other Nonsense for Mischievous Kids and Immature Grown-Ups by Chris Harris, illustrated by Lane Smith


I'm just no good at rhyming.
It makes me feel so bad.
I'm just no good at rhyming,
And that's why I am blue.

But in reality, Chris Harris IS good at rhyming in this hilarious collection of clever poetry. Everything about this book is funny, including the dedications, acknowledgments, & author bios. It includes word play, mischief, riddles, reader interaction, stories, and tons of silliness. In “The Good-Child Test,” Harris writes, “I used special ink on this poem’s last line / That some children see and some don’t / If you’re a good child, then you’ll read it just fine — ” And of course the space is left blank (or maybe I'm just a bad child who can't see it??). There’s the “Alphabet Book (by the laziest artist in the world)” where every letter looks the same: “K is for kiwi (halved),” “O is for orchestra pit,” “Q is for quail (under a serving lid)”. “If you ever have to memorize a poem of twenty lines or longer and deliver it to your class, then this is a pretty good choice” is a poem with only two words in it, moderated by intonation. I loved the “Unfair Riddles,” which are exactly what they say they are. Every now and then there is interference from the illustrator (“Sorry, Chris, I have to stop you right there. This poem is too ridiculous. I don’t think I can illustrate it.”). Even his indices are funny. An “Outdex” includes a list of poems not in the book like, “Syrup in Europe Makes Me Therup.” There are even a few sweet poems without a punchline. Lane Smith of Stinky Cheese Man fame has created illustrations that perfectly complement and accentuate the humor. The title says it all, and certainly I must fit the latter category because I laughed my way through the whole thing.

Recent Read: Better Nate Than Ever

Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle

The ultimate dream-come-true for Nate Foster would be to star in a Broadway musical, which is why he’s leaving sports-obsessed podunk Jankberg, Pennsylvania to try out for E. T.: The Musical in New York City. He’s got his mother’s credit card, his lucky rabbit’s foot, a New York-savvy catch phrase (“The A train is running local today, what a hassle”), a greyhound bus ticket, and a best friend at home cheering him on. But New York is full of all sorts of surprises, and the experience isn’t quite what Nate had imagined.

I laughed throughout this heartwarming novel. Seeing New York, Broadway auditions, even Applebee's through Nate’s eyes was so much fun. He’s innocent, earnest, funny, and oh so loveable. As an example, he and his best friend, Libby, shout the names of Broadway flops instead of swearing (“Holy Dance of the Vampires!”).

Not too surprisingly, short, chubby, always singing Nate has a history of being bullied, called names and accused of being gay—something which he himself says he’s not even old enough to really know about yet. When he reaches New York City, it doesn’t live up to every expectation, but he still feels as though he’s found a place where he might belong. He faces obstacles and disasters, but almost nothing can get this indefatigable thirteen-year-old down. His warmth and excitement win over our hearts (and maybe some others, too).

It would seem that Federle was inspired and influenced by his own life. He himself moved to NYC as a teenager to pursue a career on Broadway. He performed in The Little Mermaid and Gypsy, among others. At thirty, he was working as an associate choreographer on Billy Elliott, constantly auditioning boys whose voices hadn’t changed yet, when he saw a pudgy, freckled boy, clutching a rabbit’s foot on stage. That sparked an idea for a story, and many of his experiences working on Billy Elliott provided material for Better Nate Than Ever.

One more note: I listened to the audiobook of Better Nate Than Ever which was read by the author Tim Federle. He was a delight as a reader. This is a must for theatre kids in particular.



Also, if you want to get a sense of his humor, don't miss his twitter.

Recent Read: Eat, Brains, Love

 

Eat, Brains, Love by Jeff Hart

Jake is a low-key stoner who likes to play video games in his basement, until he morphs into a flesh-eating zombie during lunch in the school cafeteria and devours a large number of his classmates. Soon he’s on the run from the government with the hottest girl—now zombie—in school.

Well, turns out it takes a clever title & cover spoofing Eat, Pray, Love and a funny first few pages to get me to pick up a zombie book. I was always repelled by the idea of zombies, but I actually enjoyed this book. Though I know next to nothing about zombie mythology, I thought this one had an interesting take. The story is told from two perspectives. First there’s Jake: he and Amanda both contract a zombie virus (STD, if you must know), which causes them to launch into a “necrotic” (aka zombie) state when overcome by hunger. But the rest of the time, they’re normal kids with consciences and awareness and unusual healing abilities, struggling to survive in a country where the government wants to hunt them down and destroy them. The story is also told from the perspective of Cass, a young psychic who works for the government helping track down the people-eating monsters by following their one-track necrotic minds. Only she starts to question the morality of the projects within her department. So, you can see that it’s the human story that makes it an enjoyable book.

The book is a great combination of humor, action, suspense, with a touch of romance. But I warn you—though it looks like a stand alone, it is not. 

A lot of fun.

Recent Read: Lia's Guide to Winning the Lottery

Lia can barely tolerate living at home with her nagging mom, annoying sister, and father who is pushing for her to run the family bakery she has no interest in--all Lia wants is to be independent. She wants to be 23, have her own flat and her own money. And she fantasizes about the mysterious Raf who could pass for any number of supernatural heartthrobs. Then, at age 16, she wins the £8 million lottery. All of the sudden, she can live the life she always dreamed of, but will it actually be as good as she imagined?

Lia's Guide to Winning the Lottery by Keren David is a really fun read. Funny chick lit with some substance to it, and mysterious and unexpected plot developments. Lia herself is great--completely selfish and narcissistic, she's still quite likable (and her faults are very human). I especially enjoyed all the humor related to Lia's obsession with supernatural werewolf/vampire/ghost/angel romances. I also enjoyed some of the more substantive themes and subjects, like Lia's (evolving) perception of her best friend's practice of Islam. Recommended for fans of Louise Rennison.

Recent Read: Wonder

August Pullman is accustomed to being gawked at. The facial deformities that he was born with have not only meant that we would be in and out of surgery 27 times during the first ten years of his life, they've set him apart, eliciting all sorts of reactions from people who don't know him. Now that he's approaching fifth grade, his parents decide it's time to send him to school outside the home. Can August overcome the challenges he faces at school? Will his classmates be able to see him and not just his face?

R. J. Palacio's Wonder was a joy to read. I loved it. Even though it's a book dealing with serious subjects, it's funny--charming and sweet funny, as well as laugh-out-loud Diary of a Wimpy Kid funny. The style was refreshingly direct and matter-of-fact. With the aid of that style and short chapters, the pace moves quickly.

Perhaps the best part of the book--the thing that elevates it to another level--is the excellent characterization and the way Palacio tells the story from different perspectives. The characters (Auggie in particular) are well-drawn, very human and so appealing. We get to see Auggie and the story through the eyes of Auggie himself, his sister, two of his friends/classmates, his sister's boyfriend, and his sister's friend. This added such depth and perspective. And I think it gives the book an all-ages appeal--I would recommend it to teens and adults as much as I would recommend it to children. I thought Palacio's take on each point of view was spot-on, as was her depiction of the behavior of the children around Auggie.

There are a few of things that could be criticized. I don't see the point of having a section written from the perspective of Justin (the sister's boyfriend). The pop culture references may date it at some point (they already show the author's age). And the quotes that start sections are bordering on didactic (quoting Christina Aguilera? really?). But when it comes down to rating the book I didn't care much about those things. Wonder is great not because of the "important" subject, it's great because of the real, irresistible characters and wonderful story. It may make you cry, but it will also lift your spirits.

Also, read the explanation of where the idea for the book came from in Palacio's words:

About five years ago I took my kids to visit a friend of mine who lives out of town, and at some point during the day we found ourselves sitting next to a little girl who looked the way Auggie looks in the book. We were in front of an ice cream shop, and she was sitting next to us with her mother and a friend. My younger son was only about three at the time, and he reacted exactly the way you might think a three-year old would react when seeing something that scared him: he started to cry—pretty loudly, too. And though my older son, who was ten at the time, knew better than to stare, his expression said it all despite his best efforts: he looked like someone had just punched him. It was terrible, on all counts, and I got up as quickly as I could to remove us from the scene—not for their sakes, of course, but to spare the little’s girl’s feelings. As I pushed my younger son’s stroller away I heard the little girls’ mom say, in as sweet and calm a voice as you can imagine: “Okay, guys, I think it’s time to go.” And that just got to me. 

On the drive home I couldn’t stop thinking about how that scene had played out. It occurred to me that they probably went through something like that dozens of times a day. Hundreds of times. What would that be like? What could I be teaching my children so they could understand how to respond better next time? Is “don’t stare” even the right thing to teach, or is there something deeper? All this stuff was flying through my head on the long car ride home while my boys slept in the back seat of the car. I was literally obsessing about it, so after a while I turned on the radio just to keep myself from thinking about it and the first thing that started to play was Natalie Merchant’s "Wonder." It was so amazing because that song had always been one of my absolute favorites—but that night the words really hit me, almost like I was hearing them for the first time. "People see me—I’m a challenge to your balance. I’m over your heads, how I confound you and astound you, to know I must be one of the wonders of god’s own creation…" It was like the song had been written for this girl I had just seen. 

The book kind of wrote itself in my head on that drive home. I would write the story from the child’s point of view. It would help people understand—not pity. I’m just like you, the child would say. I’m an ordinary kid—except for this one thing. And I would call the book Wonder because this child is a wonder.